Hip-Hop Woodstock

When people think of large music festivals, names like Bonnaroo, Woodstock, and Rothbury come to mind. These are all multiple day celebrations of tens of artists, where people can escape the real world and relax and have a good time surrounded by music and people they love. These enormous parties play host to hundreds of thousands of people who are just looking to drink, smoke, and listen to music. While these festivals have a wide array of great artists (Rothbury 2008 quite possibly had one of the bets lineups last year including, Snoop Dogg, 311, Dave Matthews, Citizen Cope, Atmosphere, Modest Mouth, and many many many more), if you are looking for a great Hip-Hop focused festival look no further than The Roots' Picnic in Philadelphia. Last year The Roots assembled a solid lineup including themselves, Gnarls Barkley, Santigold, and Diplo, but this year the lineup is Stacked. The scheduled performers for this year's concert includes The Roots, PUBLIC ENEMY, The black keys, ASHER ROTH, KID CUDI, Santigold, and the Antibalas. When I saw this I was tempted to go online and buy a ticket that second. The lineup has a mix of everything, whether it is old school hiphop, up and coming artists, live bands, or one of the truest MCs in the game. This is the second year the The Legendary have put this concert together and I hope they continue to do it for many years to come. The presale is going on right now and you can get 5 dollars off. Here is the link:

http://www.okayplayer.com/rootspicnic/

Now, one of the reasons I came accross this lineup is also in part becasue of Jimmy Fallon's excuse for a late night show. Once again (after bringing Luda to his show for a sick tandem with The Roots), Jimmy Fallon's entire show was trumped by the geusts. On this night, he brought in Public Enemy, yes Flavor Flav, Chuck D and the whole crew, to perform "Bring the Noise" for a collaboration of epic proportions. Black Thought also had a verse to further mix one of the most influential hip-hop groups with one of the most "Legendary" crews today. The live band mixed with the old school feel made for a hell of a performance. Check out the video and see for yourself